


Listen to Your Heart

by Nightstorm



Series: Better With You [1]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Dates, First Meetings, Hurt/Comfort, Some Fluff, Some angst, Surprisingly little plot for the amount of words I wrote, Talking, Technically cheating on Mickey I guess, switching POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28138341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightstorm/pseuds/Nightstorm
Summary: It's an evening like any other, Rose thinks; sitting alone in a bar, watching her boyfriend enjoy the game on tv and drink his beer, forgetting all about her. Another dull end to another dull day. Nothing ever changes, not for her.She would be right too, under normal circumstances - but there is nothing normal about the strange man in a frock coat that appears before her and takes her hand to lead her into a night of adventure that changes everything.
Relationships: Eighth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Better With You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061423
Comments: 26
Kudos: 44





	1. Listen to Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Me to myself: "Upload this once you're done with edits."  
> Hooded me: "But what if you upload it now?" 
> 
> So here we are, it's 1AM for me and I'm fighting with tags, summaries and formatting. Joy! I've recently discovered Eight, and let's just say I'm _slightly_ obsessed with him, so Eight is what you'll get. I hope I got him right; I'm still quite new to him, so I apologise if I got parts of him wrong.

_Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you_ _  
Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do_

Rose Tyler didn’t quite know what she was doing here.

Oh, she knew who was responsible and why she’d done it, but as she looked over at Mickey, she wondered why she’d even bothered. He and his friends from the garage were glued to the tv screen above the bar, loudly shouting and cheering whenever things looked good for their team and complaining vigorously when they did not.

To her, it all looked the same and thoroughly boring to watch, if she were honest.

Her grip on her almost untouched glass of cider tightened as she stared at the amber liquid, mindlessly running a finger over the rim of the glass, her thoughts nowhere and everywhere at once. She could be in bed right now, snuggled into warm blankets and enjoying a good night’s sleep without the prospect of having to get up early in the morning because it was one of her rare days off. Or she could watch tv with her mom, or maybe paint something. Not that she’d done much of that lately, not since everyone around her kept telling her what a useless and too expensive hobby it was. Speaking of, her hair could also use a touch-up, her roots were starting to become rather prominent…

Loud cries of joy ripped her out of her thoughts and startled she looked to the bar where Mickey and basically every other patron celebrated something – a goal? Must have been. Her eyes flickered to Mickey, but he seemed to have completely forgotten he’d come into the bar with his girlfriend for a pint and some fun.

Well, he was having both, she thought bitterly.

Her end of the deal looked like sitting in a dim booth somewhere behind Mickey, being ignored by not just her boyfriend but also by Shareen, who had found a more interesting companion for the night instead of staying with Rose like she’d promised, and a warming glass of cider.

“My now, what is a lovely young woman such as yourself doing alone in a crowded bar like this?” a smooth voice close to her said and she looked up, right into the eyes of a truly gorgeous man casually leaning against the wall next to her table, one hand in the pockets of an old-fashioned looking frock-coat, the other holding a beer, eyes fixed on her. Brown hair curled enticingly around his face and while she couldn’t make out the colour of his eyes in the dim light, they seemed to regard her with honest curiosity.

A nice change from all the men who asked that rhetorically and thought it a smooth pick-up line, only to then sit down next to hear as if she’d invited them and was interested in the “good time” they promised her.

She shrugged noncommittally. “Enjoying the game, I s’ppose.”

He raised an eyebrow, a smile playing over his lips. “Yes, the Tigers are putting up quite a nice game.”

“Really?”

“I have no idea,” he admitted cheerfully. “I know absolutely nothing about football, and I wager neither do you.”

Rose smiled ruefully. “Got me. Though given how often my boyfriend prattles on about his games, you’d think _something_ would stick, but well. Could never see what his enthusiasm was about, I guess.”

She watched him as his posture subtly stiffened, slight disappointment flitting over his features at the mention of her boyfriend, but he quickly composed himself again. Only his smile remained a little bit sadder and she found that she missed his previous cheerful, almost cocky smirk.

“Ah, I must apologize for presuming you were alone, then. But may I ask, where is he?”

“Might as well be alone,” Rose muttered under her breath and the man cocked his head curiously. She nodded towards the bar. “Over there. Black fellow cheering his lungs out.”

“He seems awfully distracted,” the man commented, following her gaze before looking back at Rose and nodding at the seat next to her. “May I?”

She looked at him slightly warily. After Jimmy, she’d lost all joy in being hit on by random strangers, however good-looking they were. In her experience, they turned out to be creeps sooner rather than later and were rarely gracious about being rejected. But something told her that this man would take no for an answer and leave her alone if she asked him to; maybe it was the way he was waiting patiently for her answer, or maybe she just craved someone friendly to talk to after a long shift at Henrik’s filled with complaining and demanding costumers. Either way, she found that she wanted him to stay. He was the most interesting thing that had happened to her in the last couple of hours, or even days.

With one last look at Mickey, who _still_ hadn’t noticed her company, she waved at the stranger to sit down next to her. He complied immediately, slipping onto the bench in the booth with her with frankly enviable grace. She knew she was flexible as a former gymnast, but she couldn’t move with such fluidity. Idly she wondered if that translated into other aspects of his life, but she reigned _those_ thoughts back quickly.

However, she couldn’t help but notice her utter lack of guilt, and with a sense of defeat she realised something. Something that she had known for quite a while now, she thought, but never wanted to look at too closely.

She was saved from thinking too much about her realisation when the man leaned forward a bit and offered her his hand. “Dr. John Smith, or just the Doctor to, well, everyone really; pleasure to meet you.”

“Rose Tyler, no fancy nicknames for me, I’m afraid,” she replied, pushing aside her bleak thoughts for now and taking John’s hand. To her astonishment, he raised her hand to his mouth and brushed a kiss over her knuckles before releasing her again. Her heart fluttered at the old-fashioned gesture and her throat suddenly felt much drier than it had before. “Forward you are,” she tried to tease, but her voice croaked a little, betraying how flustered she was. Embarrassed she reached for her glass to hide behind.

A smirk played around his mouth and god did it make him look like a sexy bad boy. All his good looks and charm aside, there was definitely something dangerous in the controlled way he moved, and Rose had the sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t quite as cured from her foible for charming bad boys as she had thought.

“I’ve been called worse things than forward,” John said, voice deliciously low, and even though their surroundings were loud, his velvety voice carried perfectly.

“Yeah?” she said, unable to keep a slightly breathy note out of her voice. “What, for example?”

“Rude is a common one.”

“Really?” She found that hard to believe, but then again, he was flirting with another man’s girlfriend, so maybe he didn’t much care about what other people thought of him.

“Incredible, isn’t it? Not my fault most people think so slow.”

Rose couldn’t help but smile at the indignation in his voice. “Yeah, can see why people would call you rude,” she laughed and he sniffed, but didn’t protest. Instead he mustered her quietly, maybe thinking about what to say next, and Rose mustered him in return. He really was quite nice to look at. Quite fit too. She wondered how old he was – thirty? Thirty-five? It was hard to tell, really.

“Why are you still here?” he finally asked, breaking the silence before it could turn awkward.

Rose blinked, surprised by the question. “Sorry?”

“I mean, why haven’t you left? It’s certainly not your boyfriend who’s keeping you here. Not the game either, or your drink,” he clarified, taking a swig of his own while nodding at hers.

Rose blew out a breath, contemplating her answer. “Hope, I suppose,” she answered slowly. “Just… I dunno. It’s daft. I thought maybe we could have some fun again like we used to, but…” She trailed off, unsure how to continue, but she didn’t have to since John nodded in understanding.

“Curious thing, hope. It’s wonderful; it has certainly kept me going through some dark times. And other times it breaks your heart more than despair ever could.”

“Yeah.”

They fell back into silence, Rose staring into her glass and John looking vaguely into the direction of the tv, though she was sure he wasn’t watching but rather thinking. It wasn’t what she’d imagined when she’d invited John to sit with her, but it was… comfortable. Companionable.

Maybe a little bit of shared, relaxed quiet was just as good as someone to talk to after a long day.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said suddenly. Rose looked at him in surprise, but he kept talking before she could ask him for clarification again. “Neither of us wants to be here, so let’s go out. Walk the streets, explore the city, have some fun, enjoy life.” He leaned forward, looking at her imploringly, and from so close Rose could finally make out the colour of his eyes. A brilliant, beautiful shade of blue. “Come with me,” he whispered, and even though they were surrounded by people and loud noise, it felt strangely intimate and a slight shiver ran down her spine.

Throat dry, she forced herself to answe. “Where to?”

“I don’t know, that’s the fun of it. Everywhere. Anywhere. London, Cardiff, Berlin, New York, Mumbai. Come with me, see the world. I can show you everything. Every place you’ve ever wanted to see, we can go there.”

And oh, she wanted to follow him. She wanted to drop everything and leave, just walk away and follow him into the night and see where it led. It was absolutely barmy, yet the impulse to say yes was there and didn’t want to be ignored.

But she couldn’t just leave Mickey behind, could she? He cared about her, she knew he did, and she loved him. _But not as a girlfriend should,_ a voice in her mind whispered, and she knew in her heart that it was right. Whatever she and Mickey might have once had was long gone, worn away by routine and only held in place by a web of comfortable convenience, everyone’s expectations that she and Mickey would marry, and fear that there was no one better out there for her.

“Come with me, please,” he repeated, and her resistance cracked even further.

“I don’t even know you,” she said, feeling torn between her desire to run with him and her fear of change.

“I’ve always thought that having an adventure together is the best way of getting to know each other.”

Rose bit her lip, eyes flickering between him, her glass, and Mickey. Dear, loyal, safe Mickey. Mickey, who she could always depend on and knew what to expect from. Who had never let her down and always supported her, even when she was at her lowest. She swallowed, decision made. “I can’t. He needs me; I can’t just leave him. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” he said softly, getting up. “I would have loved getting to know you. Good night, Rose Tyler.”

“Good night, Doctor,” she whispered as she watched him go, regret already tearing at her insides.

Was it really worth it?

Were safety and convenience really worth letting the most intriguing man she’d ever met go before she had a chance to get to know him? For the first time in years she’d been interested, truly interested, in another man, and she’d let him go.

Why?

Unable to keep sitting, she stood up and walked over to Mickey, intend to join him at the bar and push aside her doubts. Maybe if she made an effort, he’d notice. Maybe if she tried, she could have fun too.

Maybe.

“Hey Micks, how’s it going?” she said upon reaching him, laying a hand on his arm to tear his attention away from the screen. She wished she could sit down next to him, but every seat was blocked by one of his mates, and none of them offered to get up – or even noticed her, for that matter.

He turned and blinked at her owlishly for a second before he seemed to remember that yes, she was here too. “Hmm? Oh, hi babe. Good, did you see that? Hey Danny, did you see that?” he hollered at one of his mates a few seats over and that quickly she’d lost him again.

Two sentences. She was worth two bloody, half-distracted sentences.

It hurt.

“Micks, mind if we go now? I’m really tired,” she tried once more, absolutely hating being the whiny girlfriend but unable to stop herself. She just wanted to know. She wanted to know once and for all if he would put her above a stupid game.

“Just twenty more minutes, alright babe?”

And just like that, her heart broke. Because she knew, she _knew_ it wouldn’t stay with twenty minutes. There would be a beer to finish and goals and fouls do debate in-depth and someone would bring up their new car and no one would go home before the bar kicked them out for closing time. Probably not even then.

It had happened too many times before to be any different now.

Safe and convenient had never felt more like a prison, constricting and choking her until there was nothing left but resignation that this was her life. Never before had she seen it with such clarity. The same old boyfriend, stable yes but she was never the most important thing in his life. The same old job that grew more exhausting with every passing day and never changed. The same day over and over again, beans on toast and mindless tv programs in the evening, only to repeat again the next day.

She hated it.

She didn’t want it.

She wanted so much more.

She wanted to _live._ She wanted to live and laugh and dance through the world. See new things, meet new people, make the world a better place.

And she’d let the one person who promised to give her that walk out of her life because she had been too scared to take the leap.

No more.

Turning on her heels, she grabbed her jacket and walked out of the bar and into the fresh London night, desperately hoping that John hadn’t gotten far away yet.

“Rose?”

She spun around sharply at the sound of his voice coming out of a dark corner of the street. She’d only taken a few steps since she left the pub but apparently, so had he. Squinting, she tried to find the owner of the voice and finally found him leaning against the wall a few metres away. He straightened up as she neared him, but even in the darkness she could see the tension in his body. Gone were his casual, self-confident stance and smile; he looked at her with confusion and wariness, as if he wasn’t sure what to make of her.

She smiled tentatively. “Hey.”

“You followed me. Why?”

“And you’re still here. Why?”

He stared at her with an unreadable expression and she nibbled at her cuticle nervously. She couldn’t help it. For a terrifying moment she doubted everything – that walking out on Mickey had been the right thing, that putting all her trust in a stranger she’d barely talked to wasn’t the stupidest decision she’d ever made, that John hadn’t changed his mind and still wanted to spend the night with her.

And then he finally answered, so softly that she could barely hear him even though the night was as quiet as a London night could be.

“Hope, I suppose.”

And her heart, it burst and fluttered and melted and she wanted to hug him and hold him close at the sheer vulnerability in his soft, soft voice.

But she couldn’t bring herself to do that quite yet, so she settled on the next best thing and grinned at him cheekily. “Curious thing, hope.”

His lips twitched upwards and oh, she hadn’t thought the fluttering in her chest could intensify even more. “So it is. Jelly Baby?”

Rose blinked at the white paper bag that had suddenly appeared before her nose and bewildered she reached into it, fishing out one of the sweets and then staring at it. “What?”

“No use staring at it, eat it!”, he told her cheerfully, popping one into his mouth himself. There was no trace of the paper bag. Where had it _gone?_ Or rather, where had it come from? Shaking her head in bewildered amusement, she did as told and chewed thoughtfully. Not bad.

“So, Rose Tyler. You never answered me, but I’m assuming it wasn’t coincidence that made you walk out of that door.”

She shrugged, avoiding his searching eyes that saw too much. “I dunno. It… I… I tried. Talking to Mickey, making it work. But it doesn’t.” She looked at John, a thick lump in her throat and feeling dangerously close to tears. “He barely saw me. I know he loves me and he is my best friend. But it doesn’t work. _We_ don’t work. Not like this. So I left.” And why was she crying? Why was she crying over something that had ended a long time ago?

“Come here,” he murmured and drew her in, holding her gently. It should feel strange, standing in the arms of a literal stranger, but… it didn’t. He felt warm and kind and safe. _She_ felt safe in his embrace, safe and comforted and like it was the most natural thing in the world. And he smelled wonderful, like the libraries she used to love as a kid and like tea and honey and a hint of something spicy. He smelled like home. She didn’t know how long they stood like that, her nose buried in his shoulder and his arms loosely around her, just tight enough to be felt without being stifling, but at some point she felt his nose nuzzling into her hair and his arms pulling her just a bit closer. His breath ghosted over her skin and when he whispered into her ear, it sent a delightful little shiver down her spine, even though there was nothing sexy about his words. “Letting go is always painful, I find, no matter how necessary it might be. You’re sad because something ends, but end it must, for how else would something new begin? And I find new things rather exciting, it would be a shame if they never started and a dull world indeed.”

She sniffled, smiling beside herself. “What if something bad starts?”

“What a bleak outlook on the world. Are you always this cheerful?”

“Usually not, ‘s just now.”

“Well then, time to do something about that.” Suddenly letting go of her, he grabbed her hand, grinning at her, a mischievous twinkling in his eyes. “Care to run?”

She laughed, and run they did.


	2. Calling for You

It felt good, running with her hand in his, like this was what they were meant to do. It felt natural and fun and for one blissful moment he stopped remembering the awful week he’d had and just enjoyed the now. Her hand fit his perfectly and he found that he didn’t ever want to let go again.

It scared him.

Everyone he cared about inevitably left him in the end, be it through choice or a force outside of their influence. Just look at what had brought him back to London! He always ended up alone, and while he usually laughed at superstition, sometimes he couldn’t help but feel like the universe was mocking him.

Why else would it throw one glowing, marvellous Rose Tyler into his path on one of the worst nights of his life?

He hadn’t even meant to be in that shabby bar. He’d just been aimlessly wandering through the night and stumbled upon it. He’d entered on a whim, a weird flight of fancy. He’d gotten a beer even though he hated the taste and then stood in a corner, watching the crowd. The chattering, cheering, noisy crowd of lively people who lived their life and enjoyed their evening, oblivious to his troubles and uncaring of them anyway.

Except his eyes caught on one pretty young woman who’d been hiding away, looking into her glass with sad eyes so at odds with her cheerfully pink sweater and a posture that screamed “tired”. Not necessarily physically, just… tired.

She’d looked like him on one of his bad days.

It felt _wrong_.

Looking at her now, all cheeky smiles and impossibly bright eyes and so much _life_ in her every movement, her every little gesture, he knew his instincts had been right. Rose Tyler was never meant to be sad or bored, her spirit crushed by monotony. She was an adventuress at heart, even if perhaps she didn’t know it yet. He’d extended his offer of travelling with him on one of his whims, not even thinking about the consequences because all he’d wanted in that moment was for her to come with him, but he found that he meant every word of it. He’d offered her the world and he intended to keep his promise, if she let him.

“So, where _are_ we going?” she asked him now, looking at him with her sparkling whiskey eyes and tongue-touched smile and his heart skipped a beat.

Oh no.

Oh nonono.

Doing his best to appear nonchalant, he smiled back at her. “I don’t know. Where are we?”

She stopped and when he looked back at her, her expression was warring between incredulous and amused. “You don’t know where we are? How many drinks did you have?”

“Half a bottle, or just a quarter. I’m not drunk, I just didn’t look where I was going.”

“You’re lost!” she laughed.

He huffed. “I’m never lost. I’m perfectly capable of finding my way home.”

“Oh? So where are we?”

“I just said I don’t know, didn’t I? Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“You’re bonkers you are!”

He looked at her, worried that she might want to go home now, but she merely looked amused and like she was having the time of her life. His lips twitched up. “Madman is another frequently used word to describe me, usually right before or after I do something stupid that ends up saving the day,” he quipped. “Now, care to tell me where we are?”

“Sure, we are…” Rose trailed off, looking around her, her forehead wrinkled. “Err… somewhere on a rather dark street?”

“How accurate and precise.”

She huffed in annoyance and mumbled, “I wasn’t paying attention either.”

He couldn’t help it. He laughed. This was ridiculous and so _him_ , he couldn’t help but throw back his head and laugh at the absurdity of the night. After a second, he heard chuckling by his side that soon turned into full laughter, and it felt _amazing_. He couldn’t remember when he’d last laughed this genuinely.

A long time ago, probably, when the world was still nice to him and all was well.

Finally, their laughter died back down to occasional chuckling and he suddenly became aware of how close they were standing, clutching at each other and holding each other up. Going by the blush that spread over her cheeks, she noticed too. Clearing her throat slightly, she put a bit of distance between them again, although she didn’t let go of his hand.

“My phone might be able to lead us somewhere nice,” she offered.

John took a deep breath to get his body back under control. _You are not here to seduce an innocent young woman who is over a decade your junior! No matter how charming she is. Get a hold of yourself, Doctor!_ Mentally shaking his head, he concentrated back on their conversation. “No, no, that would be cheating. Let’s just go this way and see where it leads.”

“Won’t we get lost even further?”

“Maybe. But isn’t it fun?”

She giggled and hooked her arm into his so that they were now as close together as they could be while walking, and he found that he didn’t mind at all. “Bonkers, you are. Lead the way, Doctor.”

Not for the first time was he immensely grateful for his good sense of direction. Or, more accurately, his ability to bluff his way into making people believe he had a good sense of direction until he found the right path to prove that he’d known the way all along.

Not that he’d ever admit to stooping to such tricks. 

So it was entirely on purpose that he lead Rose once around the block before subtly steering her into another direction once he realised they’d gone in a circle. He didn’t think she’d noticed that they’d walked the same street twice because he got the distinct feeling that she wouldn’t let him live it down if she had.

Be grateful for small blessings, and all that.

Lucky for him, he quickly found a means to distract her. “What say you to a little more adventure?”

Rose’s eyes followed his pointing finger and she wrinkled her forehead in confusion. “A bus stop? How’s that adventurous?”

“We get into the first bus that arrives, pick a number at random and get off after that many stops. Let’s see where we end up,” he explained, already heading towards the stop, dragging Rose along.

She snorted softly. “’s probably the bus I take to work every morning, but alright.”

“Well then we make sure we don’t get off at your stop, problem solved.”

Rose shivered. “Let’s hope one comes around the corner any minute now or I’ll freeze to the ground. ‘s cold, just standing here.”

He looked at her in alarm. She was wearing a rather warm looking jacket, but maybe that wasn’t enough? Even though they were well into spring by now, the air was still quite chilly during the night and he’d hate for her to get sick. “If you come a bit closer, we might be able to share body heat.”

She threw a teasing smile in his direction and he got the foreboding feeling that he’d set himself up for something, but before he could ponder that notion she snuggled into his side and his arms moved instinctively around her, his train of thought derailed by how good she felt in his arms. “You saying you’re hot?”

Ah. Well, two could play that game, couldn’t they? Using his slight advantage of height and position, he pulled her even closer and purposefully let his breath ghost over the sensitive skin of her ear as he murmured to her. “Oh, I should think so.”

He delighted in her little shudder that had nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with him, and when she turned her head to look at him and he found her lips so close to his, every clear thought of why this was a bad idea flew out of the window. He yearned to kiss her, yearned to see if her lips were as soft – though likely not as warm – as they looked, yearned to lose himself in the simple action of kissing and the human connection it offered.

“You think you’re so impressive,” she whispered to him, so close he could feel her soft breath on his face

“Aren’t I?” he murmured back, letting the faint clouds of their breaths mingle but hesitating to close the final inches of distance. Oh she was intoxicating, a siren singing to every dark corner of his soul, promising to bring light and salvation by her mere presence alone. So young, so innocent compared to him, so trusting, so ready to run and have an adventure, so strong to retain her spirit in what he guessed was a hard, dull life that would have driven him mad in mere days. He admired her, and he feared what would happen once she saw the real him, once she caught a glimpse of the ruthless man beneath the charm. He thought it might just break his heart to see her draw back in horror at the things he’d done for what he told himself was the greater good.

It could never excuse the lives he hadn’t been able to save.

A soft pressure on his lips brought him back into the present and his eyes fluttered closed, every one of his senses focused on the sweet sensation. A disappointed sigh escaped him when she drew back without deepening the kiss and he was half-tempted to chase after her, but the look in her eyes stopped him.

So sad, so much compassion.

For him?

“D’you wanna talk about it?” she asked softly, her eyes searching his face uncertainly.

He exhaled slowly. “Not really, no.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? Just like that?”

She shrugged. “’S no use if you don’t want to talk about it. Plenty of people on the estates don’t want to. ‘S just…” She drew patterns on his coat and he didn’t know if she was consciously doing it; judging by the faraway look in her eyes, she very well might not be. That she felt the urge to touch him, strong enough that she subconsciously did it…

“Yes?” he prompted her softly when she didn’t finish her sentence. She took a deep breath before continuing.

“It helps, sometimes. If you talk about what’s bothering you, I mean. It helped me after I left my first boyfriend after he took advantage of me one too many times. Refused to talk about Jimmy for ages and bottled it all up until one day I screamed it all at mom when she smothered me with her worry.” Rose laughed self-deprecatingly. “God, I took all my frustration and pain out on her, and she let me and held me afterwards when I finally cried my eyes out. I felt so sorry, but she just said ‘Let it out, Sweety, it’s alright, I’m here’. And she was.”

The notion of _anyone_ hurting his Rose sent John into cold rage, but he wrangled it down for her sake. She didn’t need him angry or upset, she needed someone to listen to her. “She sounds like a great mother.”

Rose smiled fondly. “The best.”

“I’m glad she could help you.”

“I dunno what would have happened to me without her,” Rose confessed, then shook her head. “But that’s years ago. I just, I wanted you to know that I’ve been there. Don’t you have anyone?”

A renewed stab of pain lanced through him and he swallowed, subconsciously tightening his grip around Rose. Holding on to her, as if she were his anchor in the storm that raged through his heart. “Not anymore.”

“There’s me.”

She sounded so unsure, so uncertain if her offer would be accepted or appreciated. Why was she feeling this way when it was him who felt like he was standing on a cliff’s edge, gales tearing at him to fall or to fly and all that kept him on the ground was her hand in his? How could she doubt herself when he could feel his heart shattering and healing and lie at her feet, ready to be trampled or picked up by her, completely surrendering to her mercy?

He’d never felt like this before, and certainly not this quickly, and he found that he had no idea how to handle it. His instincts were warring inside him; to run in fear or to hold on tight, never letting go again.

In the end, he simply burrowed his face in her hair and inhaled her lovely, sweet scent, just holding her close and enjoying the simple companionship she offered. “I know,” he murmured, “I know.”

And for the moment that was enough.


	3. A Little Piece of Heaven

They did catch a bus in the end, an indefinite amount of time later. Indefinite because one, she hadn’t particularly cared to keep track of the time while standing in John’s arms, and two, because the cold had killed her phone battery, which she’d noticed when she wanted to check for messages from Mickey, Shareen, or her mom and only got a black screen.

“Dammit,” she cursed, worrying her lower lip.

John sat down next to her. “Something the matter?”

“My phone died and I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. I hope they don’t worry too much, especially mom. Oh, she’ll kill me for that!”

“You can use my phone if you want, there should still be…” he trailed off, a look of pure betrayal on his face as he looked at his phone and then pocketed it again. “Never mind.”

Rose giggled despite everything. “Dead too?”

“Hmm.”

“Are you sulking?”, she teased.

“Certainly not! But what use is a phone if it goes and dies if you don’t charge it every other hour?”

“Maybe you should invent a better one.”

“Maybe I should!”

She leaned her head on his shoulder and grinned up at him. “I’d buy it.”

“Promises, promises,” he said, smiling down at her before he grew serious again. “But I can take you home if it makes you uncomfortable that you can’t tell anyone where you are or who you’re with.”

Rose shook her head. “No, ‘s fine. I’m not a teen anymore, I don’t need to justify myself or get anyone’s permission if I want to spend time with a handsome bloke I like.”

John visibly preened at her compliment and she could hear him hum happily to himself. Rose chuckled silently in amusement. Men, they all liked their egos stroked, and she got the feeling that this one’s in particular enjoyed a little attention, although he wasn’t demanding or obnoxious about it. Interjecting before his ego could grow too much, she asked him, “So, where are we going?”

“I don’t know. Pick a number between one and twenty. No, no, make that five and twenty so we cover at least some distance.”

“Hmm… Eight. My lucky number.”

“Then eight stops from now it is. Jelly baby?”

There wasn’t anything interesting in the immediate vicinity of their stop, so John and Rose kept walking while talking about trivial things – her job at Henrik’s and how much she hoped for the promotion she’d applied for, his job as a temporary lecturer for chemistry at a university in London, the stupid ways his students tried to cheat during exams…

“And he really thought I wouldn’t notice a pencil covered in formulas! Mind you, one or two might have gone unnoticed, but the entire pencil?”

Rose giggled. “What happened then?”

“I kept it. It’s on my desk now and honestly a rather nice pencil. Poor chap failed the exam of course, which was a pity. He could have aced it if he’d just put more effort into studying than trying to cheat, and quite badly at that.”

“You sound more disappointed about that than the fact that he cheated.”

John shook his head. “I can appreciate some skilful trickery. Think of magicians! Absolutely _marvellous_ how they manage to mislead hundreds of people at once while in plain sight! Fascinating, truly. Cheat well and it’s a skill in itself. Though I do wish my students would seek help or talk to me if they are struggling with the material before they resort to such desperate means. Oh look! A park!” He sprinted off, completely ignoring her noise of protest while he dragged her along.

“Doctor, wait! The gate’s locked,” Rose panted when John came to a stop in front of the closed entrance.

“What are they doing that for? It’s a park, just grass and flowers!”

“To keep vandals out, I s’pose. Anyway, this one’s closed, we’ll find another one.”

“But who knows where? No, let’s see what we can find behind these bars.” He inspected the lock closely and Rose shifted nervously from foot to foot.

“It’s locked, Doctor, you can’t-”

“Oh please,” he scoffed, condescension dripping from his voice. “Keep an eye out for cameras or people, will you?”

“This is London, John. There is CCTV everywhere,” she deadpanned and John paused, throwing her a thoughtful look before returning to his task.

“Fair enough. Better make this quick then… There we go!”

Rose’s jaw dropped. She hadn’t even seen him pick the lock! “How did you-? Why do you even know how to do that?”

“I have a curious nature and the most interesting things are usually behind locked doors. Come along now.” He slipped through the now open gate and held it open for Rose, one eyebrow raised in a silent challenge.

This was absolutely mad. What if they got caught? Her mother would tear her head off if she had to bail Rose out of a holding cell! And yet, while her pulse thrummed in her ears, she wasn’t scared, or at least that wasn’t her primary emotion. She was _excited_.

Without further thinking about it, she followed him and was rewarded by a warm smile and twinkling eyes full of mischief. Ignoring the fuzzy feeling in her chest, she shook her head in a mock threat at him. “I’m blaming you if we get caught.”

“Rose Tyler, have a little faith! We’ll be fine. This way I think.”

“Still know exactly where we’re going?”

“Of course not. This way.” He strode along a gravel path leading off the main tree-lined road deeper into the park, and, left with no other choice, Rose followed.

Somehow she got the distinct feeling that he liked being in charge and leading the way.

She also thought it made him sexy as hell and it drew her in like a moth to the flame. She just hoped he wouldn’t burn her to a crisp, on purpose or not. So far, he hadn’t done anything to make her feel even remotely uncomfortable – which she theoretically knew was impossible since he was leading her down a barely illuminated path in a previously locked park with not another soul in screaming distance. Honestly, she _should_ be wary of his intentions.

She wasn’t though. Every one of her instincts insisted that she could trust him, and she did. She didn’t know why but she did, and as she watched him excitedly flit from one blooming flower to another and talk a mile a minute about their origins, history and occasionally their special properties, she just couldn’t believe that he would have any malicious intentions towards her. And so she told that nagging voice in her head to sod off and let her enjoy her evening.

“Rose? Are you alright?” came his worried voice, interrupting her thoughts. She smiled reassuringly at him.

“Yes, just lost in thought. Where did you learn all this?” She waved in the general direction of the flowers. “I thought you’re a chemist, not a botanist.”

John shrugged. “I read a lot, and my eidetic memory makes it easy to remember everything I read. I like to know a little about everything. It comes in handy.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Hmm. Everything and some things besides. I hold doctorates in chemistry and astrophysics, and a master’s in history. Of course there is also everything that’s piqued my interest at one point or another, and I’m currently trying to take some classes in… Rose?”

“Oh, that’s… that is a lot,” Rose choked out through a crashing wave of inferiority. Tears pricked at her eyes. He was a genius. Of course he was. What was she even _thinking_ going out with him and hoping for more dates? He wouldn’t want to be seen with a chav from the estates who only recently got her A-levels and didn’t have anything else to show for her. He deserved better than her, someone as smart as him who could keep up with him.

John stopped walking when she did, a look of confusion and worry on his dimly illuminated face. “Rose, why are you crying? Was it something I said? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

Rose cut of his distressed rambling before he could work himself further into it. “’s fine, ‘s nothing, really. But maybe I should go home now, yeah?”

“What? Why?”, he cried and grabbed her hand, but she pulled back and hunched into herself in a desperate attempt to protect herself from inevitable disappointment and heartbreak.

“I don’t fit in your world. You’re all clever and, and handsome and nice and I’m just a shopgirl. I’m nothing like you.” She took a ragged breath. “So it’s better if we stop this here before we get hurt, yeah?”

“I’m afraid it’s already too late for that.”

“What do you mean-“

He took her hand again, and this time, the serious, pleading look in his eyes prevented her from pulling back again. “Rose, please. I don’t care about your education or your job, I care about you as a person, and you are absolutely marvellous.” She huffed in disbelieve. “You are, and anyone who tells you otherwise is an idiot.”

“Yeah, well, that’s a lot of idiots then,” Rose muttered, averting his eyes. She didn’t want to see pity or, worse, the tell-tale glint of lies in their beautiful blue depths. However, she couldn’t avoid them any longer when he gently lifted her face with a finger, and what she saw took her breath away.

Adoration.

She tried, but she couldn’t find another word for the sincere look in his eyes except pure, warm adoration and admiration. How…? Why?

“Rose, you are fantastic. Truly, you are. The worth of a person isn’t measured by their education or test scores, but by their heart and, if such a thing exists, their soul. Some of the most magnificent people I’ve met throughout my travels couldn’t even read and write, but they fought against all odds for what is right, or were kind when no one else dared to be, and they were the best of humanity. And you… I was having one of the worst days of my life, and then you walked in and you made me feel better just by being you.”

“But I didn’t do anything special,” she protested, feeling absolutely thrown by this turn of events. He looked at her as if she’d hung the moon, yet all her life everyone had always told her that she was nice, but nothing special. That she’d never amount to much and should give up her dreams of being more.

“Nothing special? No, you only took my hand and put your trust in me and offered me comfort without even knowing what for. I buried my old mentor and best friend today, and you made me laugh. You made me happy.” He moved his hand from her chin and cradled her face instead. “Is that not special enough?”

Tears for John welled up in her eyes and she moved closer to wrap her arms around his torso and bury her face in his coat, her own insecurities momentarily forgotten. “I’m so, so sorry,” she mumbled, sounding muffled through the layers of clothes. “Are you alright? Anything I can do?”

He wrapped his arms around her in return and chuckled lightly. “There we go again,” he said warmly. “Thinking about me even though this was about you.” He tightened his grip around her and Rose could feel him shaking slightly beneath her touch, each breath shuddering out of him as if he was fighting so hard to stay in control of his emotion. He swallowed audibly. “I’ll be alright. I always am.”

“Tell me about him?”

She felt him nod against her head before he pulled away. Panicked, Rose clutched on tighter to his coat and he chuckled softly, moving his hand soothingly up and down her back. “Let’s get out of the wind first,” he said and began walking again, this time towards a big old tree she could just about make out it the darkness. Upon arrival, he tested the ground with his hand and, after nodding in approval, settled down in the wind shade, pulling her into his lap by her waist.

“It’ll be warmer for you this way,” he explained at her startled noise.

“But what about you?” she protested, suddenly very conscious about how close and intertwined they were in this position. And of course how the cold of the ground must be biting into his delectable… into him. Definitely just “into him”, if she didn’t want her thoughts to stray off-topic.

He laughed and pulled her closer, and the vibration of his laugh against her back combined with the smooth, rich baritone of his voice in general sent hot shivers down her spine. “I’m counting on you to keep me warm,” he murmured into her ear, and the contrast between his hot breath and the cold air sent another shudder through her.

That arse, he’d done that on purpose! Well, two could play that game. She turned in his lap, making sure to wriggle around as much as possible before settling back down, now face to face with him. Triumph surged through her at the slightly dazed look in his eyes, and she could feel his fingers flexing on her hips, either to keep her still or pull her even closer. She saved him from that decision by snuggling as close as possible, tucking her head beneath his chin and nuzzling her nose into his neck. “I’ll do my best,” she purred, her lips grazing his skin when she talked, and she could feel him shiver beneath her touch. She could almost, _almost_ , forget what they had been talking about before.

“Minx,” he hissed, somehow sounding pained and amused at the same time.

“That’s me,” she joked, enjoying the way his hands leisurely trailed up and down her back. She could stay like this forever, she thought, if only it were a bit warmer.

“Cheeky, too. What have I gotten myself into this time? Oh Doctor, Doctor, you have a knack for trouble.”

“Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, they say. Why are you calling yourself ‘Doctor’, anyway? ‘s a bit weird as a name.”

“To remind myself that whatever the outcome may have been, my actions were intended to help,” John answered, a faraway tone in his voice. “Actually, it was the Brigadier’s idea, after one of our missions together went terribly wrong. You should have seen him! Towering above me, all big moustache and stern face, telling me to pull myself together and stop pitying myself!” John sighed. “He told me that I did the best I could do, and sometimes even the best doctor loses a patient. Now it was simply my turn to get back up and save the next person on my table.”

“He was your friend, wasn’t he?” Rose asked quietly when John didn’t continue talking for several seconds.

John nodded and sighed again. “That’s one way of putting it. He took me in after I joined UNIT at only twenty years of age, fresh from university.” UNIT? Why would a chemistry lecturer work for the military? Apparently mistaking her confusion for ignorance, he quickly explained. “Imagine a mix between MI6, the army, and a welfare organisation that helps people worldwide. It’s a bit like that. Well. Not really, but whatever. Not the point right now.

“I was assigned to his unit first as their ‘scientific advisor’, as they called it, and later as their field medic. Also occasionally their unofficial strategist for missions that required a more… creative approach, which didn’t please the higher ups, but the results spoke for me. Anyway. They thought I would benefit from an experienced leader. They weren’t wrong, per se, since Alistair taught me a lot, but they didn’t count on my inherent curiosity and inability to shut my mouth, or that he would indulge me as much as he did.” He chuckled. “I got my team into quite a lot of trouble, both in the field and with the authorities of countless countries. I’m quite sure the majority of my team hated me, but the Brig always listened to my ideas and plans and took them into consideration.”

“He sounds like a great man.”

“He was,” John said wistfully. “He made the world a better place by being a soldier who understood that weapons weren’t always the solution to a problem.”

It broke Rose’s heart to hear the sadness in his voice and know there wasn’t much she could do to help him overcome his sorrow, except distract him from the worst of it until he was ready to face his pain. “Tell me some of your adventures together. Something fun.”

And so he did. He told her story after story; of how the Brigadier was once married to an African tribe leader for a day due to a misunderstanding caused by John; of how John had once been abducted and the Brig came to his rescue guns blazing, only to find John and the rebel leader deep in their third game of backgammon with the control over the contested territory at stake, and the Brig was forced to play jury; of how they were once declared gods by the indigenous tribe because the explosion they caused revealed veins of gold, the tribes holy metal, and how the tribe’s idea of worship was to offer them every woman of childbearing age in the hope that they’d father an entire generation of demigods.

By the end of it, they were both hoarse from talking and laughing. They dwelled on his memories until laughter turned to sobs and John’s easy embrace tightened into the hold of a man desperate not to fall into the abyss beneath his feet. All Rose could do was to hum soothingly as John cried into her shoulder, and she held him while his body shook with silent tremors, only the occasional ragged, pained sob escaping his throat. She held him until finally his tears ran dry and his breathing turned normal again, until the shivers of his body were no longer from pain but from the cold, and the hands gripping her back loosened their hold on her jacket.

She knew they should get up soon, both of them freezing and cramping after staying still for so long, but not yet. For now, she was content to offer John what comfort she could and give him all the time he needed until he was ready to leave and move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uff. Writing this was easy. Editing it was not. I'm still not 100% happy with the way the ending turned out, but more doctoring (ha) would probably only make it worse, so here. I hope I at least somewhat managed to balance keeping the mood intact while giving necessary explanation (that hopefully didn't feel too exposition-y) Please let me know if you have any questions so I can answer them or edit the chapter some more!  
> Also thank you to my dear Cookie, without whom this would have been even more complicated. If you ever get around to reading the whole story and see this, know that you are appreciated <3
> 
> Merry Christmas!


	4. Where We're Going

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! Sorry it took so long, I was busy and got distracted. Mea culpa.

In the end, neither the cold nor his cramping muscles forced John to give up the comforting bundle that was Rose in his lap. Instead, the waving light of a flashlight heading their way caught his attention and he tensed. An officer on patrol? Probably, but John wasn’t keen on finding out for sure. While he was used to butting heads with the authorities and talking his way out of tight situations, he didn’t want to get Rose into trouble with the law.

He poked her gently until she stirred and looked at him questioningly with bleary eyes. He nodded over to the fast-approaching figure of a man. “I think it’s time for us to go,” he murmured, careful to keep his voice low enough that it wouldn’t carry in the still night air.

Rose nodded in response and slipped off him, her movement stiff after staying like this for over an hour (if his sense of time was to be trusted). “Back to the gate?” she whispered, but John shook his head. There was too high a risk that the man would see them if they moved towards the gate now. They had to wait until he passed them and was a safe distance away before they could try and make a run for it.

Staying low, he motioned for Rose to follow him and lead her around the big tree until it concealed them again from the man, then he hunkered back down. Thankfully, Rose got the hint and followed his example until the stranger passed them, his feet crunching on the gravel road. Using the sound to judge the distance, John waited until the man was a couple of metres away before he peeked around the tree to make sure.

Yes, still walking away from them and, judging by the uniform, indeed a police officer. Had he noticed the unlocked gate and come to check for vandals, like Rose had suggested before their little break-in?

No matter, now he definitely didn’t want to get caught. He had friends at UNIT that could keep his and Rose’s records clean, but it was more trouble than he was willing to put Rose through right now.

Seeing that the way was clear for now, he waved for Rose to follow him. “Stay off the path, and don’t run” he instructed her in a low voice, “we don’t want our friend over there to notice us.”

“Okay,” she whispered back, clearly a bit frightened but not downright scared, he noted with some pleasure. While her eyes were wide and her posture tense, she also looked ready for action and had a smile on her face.

What an absolutely fascinating creature she was.

Taking care to stay on the grassy bit beside the gravel path, he trotted back towards the main path that promised some safety by breaking the line of sight between them and the officer. He’d have loved to veer sideways, but flowerbeds prevented that route, and the situation wasn’t serious enough to justify trampling the flowers. Even their tree had been surrounded by them, leaving them only two ways to go.

Well, one, since they couldn’t exactly join the officer on his patrol – though John had to admit that the thought amused him.

At least until he heard running footsteps and a voice behind them shouted for them to stop and identify themselves. _Of course_ they had to have the misfortune of meeting an officer with good instincts. Had he really expected anything else?

Oh well. Nothing for it. Grabbing Rose’s hand, he grinned at her. “Change of plan: Run!”

They chased down the path, now uncaring if they made noise or not. Their headstart served them well and they managed to gain some distance on their pursuer, though not as much as John would have liked. He briefly considered trying to lose the officer in the park or split up, but he couldn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t be sitting ducks in the park if there proved to be only one exit, or that the officer would follow him, not Rose. So the gate it was. He could only hope it was still open…

It seemed the universe was kind to him tonight, because for once it listened to his prayers and the entrance was wide open. A part of his brain shook its head at the negligence because really, anyone could have wandered in, didn’t the officer think about that? But he certainly wasn’t going to complain.

Running through, he pulled Rose towards what he remembered to be a small maze of back alleys they could use to shake off their pursuer. He hurried through the narrow ways, changing direction as often as he could while still heading away from the park. Finally, he pulled Rose into an especially dark corner and motioned for Rose to remain quiet while he strained his ears.

Everything remained quiet except for his own rushing blood and a stray cat or maybe a fox screaming somewhere in the distance. Exhaling in relief, he grinned at Rose. “I think we lost him.”

She burst into laughter, her hands clutching uselessly at his lapels as her body shook from stress relief. John stared at her in bewilderment for a second before her merry laughter infected him and he started chuckling along deep in his throat.

This was starting to turn into a wild night, even for his standards. It was all a bit overwhelming, really. Not the running, he was used to that. But going from the immense grief of burying his best friend to starting to fall for a girl he’d just met to crying his eyes out in her arms – something he hadn’t done in _years_ – didn’t happen every night. And now he was standing chest to chest with her, both of them still breathing faster than normal from their run, and he wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt. More than that, he wanted to take her back to his flat and lose himself in her warmth and the taste of her skin. He wanted to drown himself in the sounds she would make as they made love, and that thought more than anything else snapped him out of his daze.

That was _not_ normal for him. He liked sex well enough, but he’d never felt the urge to initiate it or particularly craved it when he didn’t have any. And yet here Rose was, all pink and yellow and an adventurous spirit and kind heart that drew him in like a moth to the flame.

It was all going too fast for him.

“You think too much,” Rose murmured, eyes hooded and body pressed impossibly close to his, and panic flared up in him for brief moment. He wanted to pull her closer and he wanted to push her away, and he was a mess and didn’t know what to do. His breath must have hitched or his muscles tensed, for Rose’s eyes turned alarmed in an instant and she moved as far away as his hands on her hips allowed her to. “Doctor, are you alright?”

He exhaled a shuddering breath, wrangling his emotions back under control. “Yes. I’m just… overwhelmed by everything that has happened today. Give me a moment, please.”

“I’m so sorry, I forgot – I mean, I didn’t think – I’m so sorry,” she said, biting anxiously at her lip and exuding distress as if she worried she’d mortally wounded him. He hated seeing her like this, even more so if it was him that caused her worry.

So he did the only thing he could think of that might calm her. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, nibbling softly at her lower lip to get her to release it so he could sooth it with his tongue. Rose gave in with a sigh and she surrendered to the kiss, her cool lips moving softly against his. It was innocent enough and nothing like the passionate kiss he had craved earlier, but this was just as good.

When they moved apart again, both a little breathless, John pressed his forehead against hers to savour the moment for just a while longer, unwilling to completely part from her just yet. “It’s alright, precious girl. You did nothing wrong. But I need time to adjust, and I don’t want our first proper snog to be in a dubious alley that no respectable cat would frequent, and much less so a decent human.”

“A bit late for that,” Rose said shakily, but with that tongue-touched smile he was beginning to love so dearly.

He frowned in confusion. “For what exactly?”

“The cat, of course. Look over there.”

He followed Rose gaze until his eyes landed on a black-and-white cat sitting on a bin, staring at them.

John stared back.

The cat kept staring.

“Well,” John mused, fighting the urge to blink out of some twisted sense of pride. “That can’t be a very respectable cat, then.”

“Mrrrau?”

They did eventually find the way out of the alley and onto a big street, thanks to Rose’s sense of direction. John looked around. Everything looked a bit different than during the day, but he was sure he’d been here before. Yes, he recognized that little café – wonderful tea and scones, he had to take Rose at some point – which meant that he knew where they were. Sort of.

He threw an appraising glance at Rose. He was used to long nightly walks to get his mind to calm down, but Rose must be exhausted. They were a long way from the dingy bar where they’d met, and she’d implied that she had worked all day before that. As he watched her, he saw that she was indeed dragging her feet a little and winced every now and then, as if it hurt to walk on them. A quick look at his pocket watch confirmed his suspicion; it was nearing four o’clock in the morning.

“Is that a genuine pocket watch?” she asked curiously, having seen him check the time. Ah. He’d figured she was too tired to notice, but she was more attentive than he’d given her credit for.

He repocketed it hastily while trying to appear to be doing it calmly. “Yes. An old family heirloom. A sentimental little keepsake prone to misleading me, but I like it. Now then Miss Tyler, what say you to finding us a café that opens early and drinking a nice cup of tea to warm us back up again?”

“I could do with a cuppa,” she admitted, but looked around doubtfully at the rather empty street and its rows of closed shops. “Doesn’t look to good though.”

John smiled smugly. “Leave that to me. I know where we are, and I know for a fact that there is a shop that opens all night long just around the corner. Follow me!”

She took his hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world and smiled her cheeky smile up at him. “Wherever you go.”

“Sooo… Open all night long, eh?”

“I don’t understand, it was here last time I passed by!”

“Think we can eat the washing machines? Maybe the soapy water tastes like lemons.”

“Very funny.”

They ended up walking along the Thames for want of open coffee shops where they could sit down and have a cup of tea. He was of half a mind to invite her over to his place after all, just so they could both have a decent cup and sit down, but he feared how she might misunderstand his intentions when the very last thing he wanted was to scare her off or sent mixed signals.

They walked slowly, first talking and later in amiable silence, until the sky turned grey and the first hints of the rising sun peeked over the horizon. They stood at the railing and watched the sun rise as London came alive around them, and finally, when the first rays of the new day touched their faces, Rose sighed. “Time to go home, I s’pose.”

“Must we really?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a boyfriend to break up with, and a bed that’s calling my name.”

“Hmm.”

“Oi, what are you imagining now?”

“Wha- Nothing! Rose, really, don’t look so sceptical.”

“Hmm.”

Minx.

He accompanied her home, unwilling to leave her on her own when she was evidently falling asleep on her feet. As it was, her head rested on his shoulder while they took the bus back to the Powell Estate, and he had to shake her gently when her stop drew near.

“Come on, love, time to get you to bed,” he said, realising his slip of the tongue too late to cover it up. He needn’t have worried, though; Rose merely grumbled and buried her head deeper into his shoulder. His lips twitched in amusement. “What was that?”

“Lemme alone,” she mumbled again, still grumpy and muffled but at least a little bit more intelligible.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, unless of course you _want_ to sleep on this draughty bus, then by all means, be my guest.”

He’d faced tyrants, terrorists and megalomaniac scientists and successfully parleyed with some of the scariest people on this planet.

Rose Tyler’s glare put them all to shame.

_A wolf in human skin_ , shot through his mind, and as if to prove him right she growled at him. “Git.”

A lesser man might have shrunk away and cowered before her lest she decide to pounce on him, but as he watched her get up and walk to the door, all he felt was excited anticipation. He wanted to see more of her fighting spirit. He wanted to see her find her feet and unfurl her full potential, and he wanted to be by her side when she claimed her place in this world.

Surely that wasn’t too much to ask for?

Realising that the bus had stopped, he hastily jumped up and followed Rose onto the street, where she was shifting uncomfortably on her feet.

“Everything alright?”

“My feet are killing me,” she admitted, wincing. “Come on, mom’s place is over this way. Unless you need to go? I could walk on my own from here, if you’d rather go.” She looked at him uncertainly, biting her lip again. He shrugged.

“Nothing too pressing on my agenda today. Lead the way.”

They hadn’t been walking for long, fifteen minutes he estimated, when Rose drew to a stop in front of a run-down looking apartment building. “This is me,” she said, looking at the building with an emotion in her eyes that he couldn’t quite place. Apprehension with something else? “Blimey, I’m getting flashbacks to the last time I came crawling back after leaving a boyfriend. Just don’t think she’ll be as happy this go around.”

“I can come with you, if you want,” he offered, but Rose shuddered.

“No, ta. She’d slap you into your next life for abducting me or something.”

John sniffed indignantly. “Abducting you? I did no such thing! ... I hope.”

“You didn’t,” Rose laughed, throwing him a teasing grin before growing serious again. “But mom tends to overreact. Best if it’s just me for now, yeah?”

“You know her better than I do. Then I suppose this is goodbye for now,” he said, already missing her even though she was still there. How had she burrowed her way into his heart this quickly and effortlessly? It was a mystery he intended to investigate in depth in the future, but for now he had no choice but to let her go, however reluctantly. He pressed a brief kiss to her forehead in goodbye, so as not to succumb to the temptation of lingering on her lips, and turned to walk away, but her shout stopped him. Puzzled, he turned around and saw her grinning at him, looking both amused and worried.

“I still need your number, you know.”

“Oh! Right. Where did I put my biro?” He rummaged in his pockets, pulling out stuff and handing it absentmindedly to Rose until he found it and pulled it out with a triumphant cry. He turned to Rose, proud of his success, and saw her obviously fighting (and failing) to suppress her giggles. “Why are you laughing, Rose?”

She laughed even harder. “Nothing, Doctor. Just didn’t think anyone could have this many _things_ in their pocket.” She eyed said things in her hands. “Is that a wind-up mouse?”

“Handy for distractions. You can give them back now – yes, I see what you mean. I should really declutter my pockets at some point in the near future. Anyway, give me your hand.” She complied and he quickly scribbled his number onto her palm, after which she plucked the biro from his hand and wrote her number onto the back of it in much neater handwriting.

“There,” she hummed, giving his biro back. “Don’t forget to call.”

“I won’t, promise. I’ll see you soon.”

“Be sure you do. Oh, and one last thing.”

“Yes?”

“This,” she said and pulled him in for a searing kiss that branded her name into his heart forever. 

_I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why,_ _  
But listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aand that's it. Hope you liked my take on these two, since I absolutely adore them. I have plans for more fics in this universe, some OSs, some multichapter. Let's see if I actually get around to writing them *wry g*
> 
> Oh, since I forgot to mention it in the first chapter: The fic and chapter titles and the lyrics in chapter 1&4 are from the song "Listen to Your Heart" by Roxette. This was never meant to be a songfic, but I wrote it while I was obsessed with that song and it just kinda wormed its way in xD Oh well, it saved me from the hard and hated work of finding titles, so there's that.
> 
> I wish you all a belated happy new year!


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